Operation: ABC Duties, Stuttgart

Date: 15th/16th March 1944 (Wednesday/Thursday)

Unit No: 101 Squadron, 1 Group, Bomber Command

Type: Lancaster I

Serial: ME558

Code: SR:Q

Base: RAF Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire

Location: Breitenheim near Mussig, France

Pilot: Plt Off. James Clegg GM, 171637 RAFVR Age 29. KiA (1)

Flt Eng: Sgt John Frederick Ennis 1582755 RAFVR Age 20 KiA (2)

Navigator: Flt Sgt. Victor Jack Pickford 1339536 RAFVR Age 21. KiA

Bomb Aimer: Sgt. Edward Andrew Cunningham 1339759 RAFVR Age 21. KiA

WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt Lawrence Rex Melbourne RAFVR 1493493 Age 23. KiA

Spec Operator: Sgt. Joseph Bagnall Bull 1806789 RAFVR Age 21 KiA

Air Gnr (Mid Upp): Flt Sgt. Cecil Glen Arthur 429902 RAAF Age 20. KiA

Air Gnr (Rear): Sgt. Robert Liderth 2208850 RAFVR Age 35. KiA

Above Flt Sgt. Cecil Glen Arthur from his Service Record.

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 15th March 1944 the Squadron detailed 25 aircraft to join a force of 863 aircraft on a mission to bomb Stuttgart in Germany. ME558 was one of a number of aircraft that was detailed on ABC Duties.

Of the 37 aircraft lost on this mission, two of which force-landed in Switzerland, ME558 was the only aircraft from the squadron that failed to return.

ME558 was claimed by Uffz. Robert Koch his 1st Abschuss from 6./NJG1 who claimed a 4 motor over near Mussig, 6 km (3¾ mls) SE of Sélestat, France at 22:35 hrs. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (1 January 1944 - 15 March 1944) Part 1 - Theo Boiten).

An update provided by Theo Boiten described that ME558 which collided in with 408 Sqn Lancaster II LL637 EQ:P. LL637 was cut in half, the front part crashing at the entrance of Hilsenheim and the rear part hitting the ground near Wittisheim. ME558 crashed at Breitenheim near Mussig a small French village some 10 km (6¼ mls) west of the Rhine and 7 km (4½ mls) SE of Sélestat, France.

Author’s note: In the Nachtjagd Combat Archive (1 January 1944 - 15 March 1944) Part 1, LL637 or 550 Sqn Lancaster LM392 was claimed by Oblt. Rolf Bussmann his 18th Abschuss from 10./NJG5 in the Sélestat area at 6.200 m. at 23:45 hrs. Theo Boiten added a note to the effect that both aircraft reportedly lost as a result of the attack which caused a mid-air collision with both aircraft crashing close together.

Fw. Koch with 6./NJG1 became a PoW after baling out, his crew were KiA, on the night of the 6th/7th October 1944 after his Bf110 G-4 G9+NP was intercepted and shot down by 409 (Nighthawk) Sqn RCAF, Mosquito MM560 flown by Fg Off. R.H. Finlayson J13709 and Fg Off. J.A. Webster J28703. Fw. Koch was credited with 5 confirmed Abschüsse. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive - Biographies - Theo Boiten)

(1) James Clegg, whilst a Police Constable of the Lancashire County Constabulary and Harry Martin who was a Scaffolder in Lancashire were awarded the George Medal (GM) and British Empire Medal (BEM) (Civil) respectively. (London Gazette 16th May 1941).

The citation reads: “High explosive bombs partially demolished four houses. An aged man was trapped in one of these, the upper storey of which was on fire. Police Constable Clegg made his way through the wreckage and by the light of the flames saw the casualty nearly buried under the debris.

The constable was then joined by Martin and together they tore away the wreckage and freed the injured man. With great difficulty they succeeded in getting him out of the burning building.

The heat and intensity of the fire had greatly increased but Clegg returned and searched in the ruins for possible further victims”.

1450075 Sgt. Clegg was appointed to a commission and promoted to 171637 Plt Off. with effect 3rd February 1944 (London Gazette 10th March 1944).

(2) There is an uncorroborated claim that Sgt. Ennis was the sole survivor of ME558 who baled out near Wittisheim, where he was taken PoW. He was executed two days later by a Wittisheim-based German soldier who had lost his wife and daughter in an Allied bombing raid on Köln.

Uncorroborated in as much no War Crimes Investigation file has been found, which would have been the first stage in any such claim of an execution and also no corroborating contemporary evidence has been found to substantiate the claim.

However, this author has sourced a number of records which depicts the difficulty of the British authorities in determining the fate and location of missing aircrew from ME558 and LL637 after hostilities had ceased.

A Graves Registration record documents that Sgt. Ennis was initially buried in the Wittisheim Community Cemetery, and his date of death was recorded as the 15th March 1944, the date of the loss of the aircraft.

Wittisheim is just 6½ km (4 mls) to the NNE of Mussig.

A German Totenliste (death list) stated that Sgt. Ennis was buried on the 19th March 1944 at Sundhausen near Schlettstadt.

A Missing Research & Enquiry Section (MRES) report dated 5th June 1948 determined that Sgt. Ennis was buried in the Wittisheim Communal Cemetery and not Sundhausen albeit no date of death was listed. The error in location can be explained as the two villages are very near to each other, but the disparity of his date of death remains in dispute and on this the claim of his execution hangs.

The execution premise comes from an entry from the book “Last Flight to Stuttgart” (Ref 1) which quotes an account by an “Aplhonse Spiller”, a 21 year old, who witnesses the events over Sélestat on the night/morning of the 15th/16th March 1944. He claimed that he saw a parachutist floating down and who was later found dead, floating on Lake Baggerloch on the edge of Wittisham not far from the tail unit of LL637.

He does not divulge how he came to find out that this was Sgt. Ennis but it is probable that the airman was identified by those whose found his body. His claim also does not provide a date on which Sgt. Ennis had been found. However, the information board which accompanies the graves at the Mussig Churchyard states that the body of Sgt. Ennis was found dead a few day later near a pond at Wittisheim.

The personal notes of Patrick Baumann given to the author of “Last Flight to Stuttgart” (Ref 1) on the 28th August 2010 stated those who found Sgt. Ennis firstly assumed that he had drowned or died of some injury incurred while parachuting from the plane, but a bullet hole in the nape of the neck suggested another cause.

So in summary, after all this time has passed, determining what is fact, fiction or hear-say that a war crime had been committed with any degree of certainly is problematic not least because:

The uncertainty of the date when his body was found;

The uncertainty of where his body was found;

The claim of a bullet hole in the nape of the neck “suggesting another cause” is leading a reader to the conclusion that a murder took place. Incidentally this is the method of execution used by the Gestapo and not a soldier. The bullet wound can be explained by a number of other plausible scenarios;

Any contemporary witness statements or researcher information are not currently available which may or may not corroborate the claim of murder;

None of the official documentation available makes mention of any suspicious nature to his death.

At this time the notional claims that Sgt. Ennis was killed by hostile actions on the ground are unproven.

Burial details:

Above the Mussig Churchyard (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC))

Plt Off. James Clegg GM. Mussig Churchyard, Collective Grave, France. Grave Inscription: “BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES SILENTLY TREASURED OF A DEAR HUSBAND SON AND DADDY”. Son of Thomas and Florence Clegg. Husband of Gladys (née Ogden) Clegg of Peel, Isle of Man.

Above the Choloy War Cemetery (Courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC))

Sgt. John Frederick Ennis. Choloy War Cemetery, France, 3.F.13. Grave Inscription: “PRECIOUS MEMORIES LIVE IN OUR HEARTS ALWAYS”. Born in July 1923 in Basford, Nottingham. Son of William Edgar and Ellen Isabella (née Holden) Ennis of West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England.

Flt Sgt. Victor Jack Pickford. Mussig Churchyard, Collective Grave, France. Grave inscription: “FAR AWAY BUT NOT FORGOTTEN”. Born in April 1922 in Edmonton, Essex. Son of Walter Thomas and Elsie Louise (née Holmes) Pickford of Romford, Essex, England.

Sgt. Edward Andrew Cunningham. Mussig Churchyard, Collective Grave, France. Grave inscription: “I KNOW THAT HE SHALL RISE AGAIN IN THE RESURRECTION AT THE LAST DAY”. Born in April 1922 in Bristol, Avon. Son of William and Margaret Grace (née Glenny) Cunningham of Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.

Sgt. Lawrence Rex Melbourne. Mussig Churchyard, Collective Grave, France. Grave Inscription: “SWEET IS THE WORD REMEMBRANCE OF ONE YOU LOVED AND SADLY MISS. MOTHER”. Born in July 1921 in Northwich, Cheshire. Son of Arthur and Mary (née Galley) Melbourne of Wharton, Winsford, Cheshire, England.

Sgt. Joseph Bagnall Bull. Mussig Churchyard, Collective Grave, France, Grave Inscription: “AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER THEM”. Son of Ernest Reuben and Alice Elizabeth (née Harvey) Bull. Husband of Audrey Louise (née Simmons) Bull of Winston, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

Flt Sgt. Cecil Glen Arthur. Mussig Churchyard, Collective Grave, France. Grave Inscription: “GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN”. Born on the 15th January 1924 in Booleroo Centre, South Australia. Son of Cecil Clarence and Anne (née Collins) Arthur of Booleroo Centre, South Australia.

Sgt. Robert Liderth. Mussig Churchyard, Collective Grave, France. Grave Inscription: “HE DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE. WIFE AND SONS ARTHUR, ROBERT, RONALD”. Son of Robert and Martha Liderth of Liverpool. Husband of Elsie Jane Liderth of Huyton, Liverpool, England.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and Jack Albrecht and dedicated to the crew and their families (Dec 2024).

Other sources listed below:

Reference(s):

1. “Last Flight to Stuttgart: Searching for the Bomber Boys of Lancaster EQ-P” by Lisa Jean Russ.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them. - Laurence Binyon
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